Home visit pilot program

Transcription

1 Home visit pilot program City Clerk's Office Election Services Procedure No.: PRO-PE-001 Table of Contents 1. Purpose Application Authority/Legislative Reference(s) Storage and Security Voting procedures Close of voting Tabulation and results Retention of election documents Recounts and audits... 5 Appendix A... 6

2 Home visit pilot program City Clerk's Office Election Services Procedure No.: PRO-PE Purpose This document outlines the City of Toronto's procedures for a pilot home visit program for home-bound electors in the City's municipal elections. 2. Application These procedures apply to election officials designated by the City Clerk, homebound electors, candidates and scrutineers during City of Toronto municipal elections. 3. Authority/Legislative Reference(s) Section 42(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) authorizes the use of alternative voting methods that do not require electors to attend a voting place in order to vote. City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 53, Article 1, added by By-Law authorizes the use of home visit voting as an alternative voting method for home-bound electors for municipal elections in the City of Toronto. 4. Storage and Security All tabulators, memory cards, ballots and election supplies shall be securely stored at the City Clerk's designated location before and after use at the voting places and for home visits during the election. 5. Voting procedures Requesting a Home Visit (1) An eligible elector may only vote once in Toronto, regardless of the number of properties they may own and/or lease. Eligible electors who own more than one (1) property and reside in Toronto must vote where they reside. (2) Every eligible elector who wishes to receive a home visit to vote must: be on the voters' list or have applied to add themselves to the voters' list; affirm that they are unable to attend a voting place without unreasonable difficulty due to illness, injury or disability; and 1

3 (c) provide acceptable identification. (3) A home visit can be requested by the following methods: by phone; or by . (4) An elector requesting a home visit shall provide their name, contact information, qualifying Toronto address, date of birth, and preferred date and time of visit. (5) A designated election official shall verify that the elector is on the voters' list: if found on the voters' list, the elector shall be asked to confirm their school support; if not found on the voters' list, or if any of the elector's details are incorrect, the election official shall: i. Provide the elector with information on how to apply online to add or update their information on the voters' list; or ii. If required, assist the elector in applying online to add or update their information on the voters' list. (6) A designated election official shall review the request and contact the elector to schedule a date and time for the home visit, confirm they have acceptable identification, and inquire of any accommodations required for voting. Marking the elector as voted (7) Before entering an elector's residence to perform a home visit, the designated election officials will check to ensure that the elector has not already been marked as voted on the Voters' List Management System (VLMS). (8) Once the home visit is successfully completed, the designated election officials will mark the elector in the VLMS as having voted. Candidates and Scrutineers (9) Candidates and their scrutineers cannot accompany or attend a home visit. (10) Candidates and scrutineers are permitted to attend the opening and tabulation of the sealed ballots after the end of the advance vote period, and the City Clerk shall provide advance notice to candidates of the scheduled time and location. 2

4 (11) Candidates are entitled to receive, at the end of each advance vote day, a list of those electors who voted during the advance vote period. The list shall include both those electors who voted by home visit and in-person, but it will not show which method electors used to vote. Voting by home visit (12) Home visits shall take place between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. during the advance vote period. (13) Each home visit will be made by a team of two designated election officials. (14) At the elector's place of residence, the designated election officials shall ask the elector for identification that shows their name and qualifying address and ensure it matches the information on the voters' list If the elector is on the existing voters' list and provides acceptable identification, the designated election officials shall provide the elector with a ballot and instruct them on how to mark it. If the elector is on the existing voters' list and does not have acceptable identification, the designated election officials shall: i. Assist the elector in completing the Declaration of Identity; ii. Mark or sign the Declaration of Identity in the designated area. (c) (d) If the elector has applied online to be added to the voters' list and provides acceptable identification, the designated election officials shall provide the elector with a ballot and instruct them on how to mark it. If the elector has applied online to be added to the voters' list and does not have acceptable identification, the designated election officials shall inform the elector they cannot be issued a ballot without acceptable identification. i. In extenuating circumstances, if the City Clerk is satisfied that the elector has provided appropriate identification through other means, a ballot may be issued. (15) To vote, the elector shall mark the ballot for their preferred candidate(s). (16) The marked ballot will be sealed and made anonymous using a double envelope system. (17) The designated election officials will collect and securely store the sealed ballot. 3

5 6. Close of voting (1) Upon completion of all scheduled home visits for the day, the designated election officials shall deliver the sealed ballots and other election supplies to be securely stored at the City Clerk's designated location. (2) Home visits shall conclude at the end of the advance vote period. (3) The advance vote results shall not be accessed or generated until after the close of voting on election day at the City Clerk's designated location. 7. Tabulation and results (1) At the end of the advance vote period, designated election officials will meet at a location set by the City Clerk to open the sealed ballots. (2) Once all of the marked ballots have been removed from their envelopes, they will be run through a voting tabulator. Any ballots collected via emergency home visits on election day will be included in the tabulation of the advance vote results, and, after voting closes on election day, will be fed through the same tabulator that was used to feed the advance vote home visit ballots. (3) Should a tabulator reject a ballot, the following process shall be followed: (c) Where there are no marks in any of the designated voting spaces, the designated election official shall re-feed the ballot into the tabulator and press the button under "Count as Marked" until the ballot is drawn into the tabulator. Where the tabulator returns the ballot because it detects more votes in the designated voting spaces than an elector is entitled to mark on the ballot, the designated election official shall re-feed the ballot into the tabulator and press the button under "Count as Marked" until the ballot is drawn into the tabulator. Where there are marks in the designated voting space(s) but the tabulator cannot process the ballot, the designated election official shall re-insert the ballot, trying different orientations (face-down/head-first/last). (4) If the tabulator rejects the ballot again, the ballot shall be set aside for examination and the following process will be followed on the set-aside ballots: Where there are no marks in any of the designated voting space(s) for the applicable office and the tabulator cannot process the ballot, the designated election official shall: 4

6 i. place a "Cancelled Replaced Ballot" label ("Label"; see Appendix "B" for a sample label) on the back of the original ballot; ii. write "Home Visit Ballot", put a checkmark beside "Ballot Rejected" and sign the Label and then file it in the designated folder; iii. issue a replacement ballot; and iv. feed the unmarked replacement ballot into the tabulator. Where there are marks in the designated voting space(s) for the applicable office and the tabulator cannot process the ballot, the designated election official shall replace the ballot. The City Clerk or designate shall: i. write "cancelled replaced" on the original ballot and file it in the designated folder; ii. prepare a replacement ballot in full view of any certified candidates or scrutineers by making a replica mark in the appropriate designated voting space(s) on the replacement ballot; iii. place a "Cancelled Replaced Ballot" Label ("Label") on the back of the replacement ballot; iv. write "Home Visit Ballot", put a checkmark beside "Ballot Replacement" and sign the Label; and v. feed the replacement ballot into the tabulator. (5) The home visit results shall be incorporated into the City's results system on election night. 8. Retention of election documents The City Clerk shall not alter the ballots, documents and materials and shall retain them in the same manner as is provided for in the MEA for the keeping of election records. 9. Recounts and audits (1) If a recount is held, the votes shall be counted in the same manner as the votes were initially counted. (2) After the election, the City Clerk may perform an audit of ballots to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the counted votes. Date Approved: September

7 Appendix "A" "Cancelled Replaced Ballot" Label Cancelled Replaced Ballot Home Visit Ballot Ballot Rejected Ballot Replacement Signature of City Clerk or election official: 6